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This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series makes the first of two trips to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. There have been five different winners so far, and if a sixth finds victory lane, it will mark just the eighth time it has happened in NASCAR history. The last time that happened was in 2014.
In NASCAR’s modern era, there were ten non-repeat winners in 2010:
Dale Jarrett (Daytona)
Bobby Labonte (Rockingham)
Jeff Burton (Las Vegas)
Dale Earnhardt (Atlanta)
Ward Burton (Darlington)
Rusty Wallace (Bristol)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Texas)
Mark Martin (Martinsville)
Jeff Gordon (Talladega)
Jeremy Mayfield (Auto Club Speedway)
The streak came to an end, with Earnhardt winning at Richmond.
The 2000 mark may never be touched, as well as the one set the following year when 19 different drivers scored victories. The second most, 18, has been done twice (2002, 2011), and just a year ago in the wild and whacky COVID season, there were 13. This year is off to a start that could equal 2020.
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Catch me if you can
Two drivers will keep an eye on an incredible mark in NASCAR. Last week’s winner at Phoenix, Martin Truex Jr., and Kurt Busch, are on the verge of becoming the 19th and 20th drivers to lead 10,000 laps in their careers. Truex enters the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 with 9,963 laps led in 560 starts, while Busch is 96 shy at 9,904 after 731 starts.
Richard Petty holds the NASCAR all-time mark of 51,695 laps led over a career that spanned 1,185 races. That’s more than 20,000 ahead of Cale Yarborough in second. Junior Johnson is down on the list in 15th but has the highest percentage of laps led (24.20%). In just 313 starts, he was ahead of the field for 12,643 of them. By comparison, Petty was at 16.8-percent.
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The Blue Oval is streaking at Atlanta’s oval
Should a Ford find the winner’s circle on Sunday, it will break a tie with Chevrolet for the most consecutive victories at Atlanta. Both manufacturers have won four in a row thrice, but the streak that began in 2017 is still alive for Ford.
The Blue Oval swept both races in 1964-65 and did it again from the November 1991 event, sweeping both in 1992 and capturing the first race in 1993. The Bow Tie brand swept in 1983-82, repeated in 1995-96, and finally, all four races in 2003-04.
Homeboy to make people laugh at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Georgia native Jeff Foxworthy will bring the chuckles to fans in attendance on Sunday with a pre-race performance. The Atlanta native is a multiple Grammy-nominated comedian and is the largest selling comedy recording artist in history. Admission to his show is included with every grandstand ticket purchase.
The NASCAR weekend at Atlanta
All three of NASCAR’s touring series will be in action this weekend. It will kick-off with a doubleheader on Saturday, starting with the Camping World Truck Series Fr8Auctions 200 (2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 / MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It will be 200.02 miles (130 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 130).
The NASCAR Xfinity Series EchoPark 250 follows (5:00 p.m., Fox Sports 1 / PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The race length is 251.02 miles (163 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 163).
Read more: NASCAR at Atlanta: Odds, picks, starting lineup
The NASCAR Cup Series wraps up the first weekend at the Georgia venue with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (3:00 p.m., FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It is 500.5 miles (325 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 105), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 210), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 325).
